Happy Birthday, Dylan!

Dylan is 11! I can't believe he's so old! No more baby......sigh.....

Dylan wanted an Avatar movie party so we decorated the basement with blue lights to create Pandora, the blue planet. It looked so cool! We tye dyed blue t-shirts (that ended up multicolored!) and ate blue cake.

Eight boys spent the night with 2 others joining us for breakfast. Two of the boys slept for a few hours but the rest are still awake! I can't believe they actually stayed awake ALL night! Maybe it was the blue Gatorade they had to drink!

Dylan had a blast. Since I wanted to make it fun for him, I guess I succeeded!

I Just Had to Laugh

.....when I looked back at the title of the last post - Still Snowing! We've had a lot of snow but nothing like Spokane! Still snowing, and snowing, and snowing! We had a great time there for Thanksgiving. The kids played in the snow with Nana and Papa and Auntie Robyn for one full day while Steve and I did some Christmas shopping. Dylan even claimed it was the best Thanksgiving ever!

And a few more of my daily pictures!

You may notice that November 8 is missing - not sure where it went or if I even got a picture that day!

November 9

Aren't they so cute! This is my student teacher with some of my class. It was her last day and the kids were presenting her with books for her new (someday) classroom. Check out the short sleeves - it was actually warm!

November 10

Yes - this is my sexy husband! He claims he sleeps really well with this mask and that I should try it. I'd rather giggle at him when I come to bed....hee hee!

November 11

I just had to catch this little nanny goat checking me out at Pine Stump Farm. She looks very comfortable in this picture but I was really making her nervous. I was walking around as Lyndsi and her friends were taking a horseback ride for her birthday.

November 12

This is what I wanted for my birthday! I LOVE blowing dust and doghair and leaves out of my garage, down the driveway and into the street......just so they can all blow back again.....but I love it!

November 13

And look who else loves it!

It's Still Snowing!

November 3

Lyndsi looks so different! She had 2 teeth pulled yesterday and now her toothy mouth is less toothy! The 2 teeth were crowding out that right canine so they had to go!

November 4

Oh do our dogs love this closet! They hear the door open and they come running. They are so disappointed when I get out a candle.....

November 5

I couldn't believe this desk! One of my students stayed after school today so we could work on cleaning out her desk. It was unbelievable! I swear it was like the never ending pit. You'd be amazed at what came out of the darkness!

November 6

Lame picture! However, I had to take a picture of the clock because I was so excited that Daylight Savings was over! Fall back, baby!

November 7

I'm always amazed at the view from this school! We were outside during my Poetry class and I loved looking around!

It's Snowing!

Wish I were as excited as the kids are! I'm excited for the warm house and looking out my window at the pretty whiteness, but that's about it. Guess I'd better hunker down for a long winter....

October 29

I came out of school this Friday afternoon and the colors were so vivid I had to take a picture! Unfortunately, the fiery reds and oranges aren't so fiery in the picture but it was amazing!

October 30

Dylan had a soccer game in Post Falls this weekend. On our way back to Spokane we stopped at Cabela's. Wow! I knew it was cool but I had no idea! Max was spending the weekend with us and he and Dylan were impressed by the polar bears.

October 31

Costumes! Dylan is a zombie, Lyndsi is a mermaid and neighbor, Karina, is a black widow. The kids were all on their way to trick or treat around the neighborhood.

November 1

Candy! These are darn heavy one gallon bags of candy! I can't believe how much the kids collected in a little over an hour!

November 2

Poor Lucy......Lucy doesn't like to get into trouble. Here she is hiding from Steve after doing a little nosing around the neighborhood.

My Baby is 8!

I can't believe Lyndsi is already 8 years old! Lyndsi's birthday is today and we invited her (and my) whole class for pizza and cake. About 14 kids showed up and they devoured 3 large pizzas at a yummy local pizza joint. It was a wild and crazy and fun night!

On the 11th (yes, it's my birthday but Lyndsi and I celebrated together!) we took Lyndsi, Dylan and 2 of Lyndsi's friends on a trail ride at Pine Stump Farm. None of the girls was experiened at riding so it was a true adventure for all of them!

Nana and Papa surprised Lyndsi and Dylan by showing up Wednesday night for dinner! Steve and I were still at work so we didn't get to experience the excitement but it was a fun evening for the kids. Nana and Papa helped Lyndsi and I celebrate our birthdays and even came to watch the riding.

Reily, Lyndsi and Jenna with their horses. Dylan with Canella (the horse!)

My Challenge Photos

October 24

Today is Grandma Linda's birthday! Lyndsi is celebrating by giving all of us pedicures. Sorry, Grandma. You'll have to come to Okanogan for this pedicure!

October 25
Our 2010 jack-o-lanterns!

October 26

Lyndsi loves her mermaid costume from Nana! She keeps asking me to take pictures of her in the costume.....Halloween can't get here soon enough!

October 27
Jenna's Grandma took Jenna, Lyndsi and Reily out to lunch today. She's a fun grandma and we feel so blessed to have her in our lives!

October 28

Ummmm.....I think Lucy has outgrown her Halloween costume from last year! She's so humiliated!

And Five More!

October 19

Can you go to jail for housekeeping neglect? I was kind of enjoying watching this cobweb in the corner of my living room grow throughout the summer. But now it's just ugly! Even Lyndsi finally told me we should clean it up!

October 20

And Dylan through the years....

October 21

I love these decorations! Lyndsi and Dylan each created a Halloween decoration sometime in their young preschool years. I've kept them both and they just make me smile whenever we bring them out!

October 22

Tried to get a picture of the concert, but all that turned out was the picture of the venue. Went to see the Paperboys tonight. Steve couldn't go, so I tagged along with the Morrison-Nelsons. So glad I did! This was the best concert! 31/2 hours of energy and fun! I tried to upload some video but it took way too long!

October 23

Amy and Jeff invited us and Dennis and Julia over to play a game and chat tonight. We haven't seen our friends socially for so long! I left early due to a sinus infection but I enjoyed the time with them all.

Five More!

October 14

It's jogathon day! What a beautiful day to spend walking. I was so impressed with my class. The kids walk or run the high school track for one hour. One of my little guys ran 23 laps! The fewest laps walked was 8 but all others were in the double digits. Not bad for a bunch of 7, 8, and 9 year olds!

October 15

One last beautiful rose! This pretty flower is a fighter. All my other roses have been pruned and ready for winter. This one, though, insists on keeping its summer glory!

October 16

Bathroom status: shower floor - done

October 17

This was a pretty amusing scene - I looked out and saw Steve and our neighbor, Mike, chatting with their beers and mowers. We practically share a lawn....neither one has to walk far to talk to the other.

October 18

Lyndsi through the years.....

I Love this Fall!

I can't believe how beautiful it's been! Last year's autumn was filled with rain, rain and more rain. Our playground at school was a lake! The trees lost their leaves before they changed colors. It was uuuuuuugly!

This year is a different story - beautiful colors, warm days and crisp nights, just enough rain to bring out the colors......aaaaaahhh.....if I weren't a teacher, fall would be my favorite time of year :)

October 9

Yep, it's a penis teapot......made by my talentedly creative friend Alyssa, one of my Master's mates......

October 10

On our way home from our 17th class, Jaime, Pat and I were talking about homemade tomato soup. Made me want to try it. So I did! The soup tasted good but it wasn't something I loved. I may, or may not, make it again.

October 11

I missed my photo shot on the 11th so I'm faking it with this shot. I took 2 pictures on the 12th.....Dylan and Max took in a few minutes of Lyndsi's game before heading off to their own practice. They were quite the little coaches!

October 12

The sky was beautiful tonight! This shot was taken after Lyndsi's soccer game, at about 6:30. It was a perfect evening.

October 13

Have you ever seen our little library? That's Dylan coming out the front door, after retrieving the keys I left on the counter!

Snow???

Those darn weathermen and women are already predicting snow! I'm not ready! It's been such a great fall that I'm not ready to give it up!

Sigh....

October 4

Yikes! I had to pullover to take this picture! Do you ever have those nightmares where you look in your rearview mirror and there's a person looking back at you? Here's what I saw on my drive back from Spokane today! Dylan was playing around with his Halloween costume and it really freaked me out!

October 5

Meet Ruth and Steve. They own Okanogan's only little coffee shop. I drive through every Monday to pick up a nice hot cuppo latte!

October 6

Check out the stash of squash I picked up at the Greenbluff farm this weekend! It looks so festve on my deck!

October 7
This was my lunch at school today. My friend, Tess, posted a picture similar to this on her blog and it made me hungry! So I made my own little fancy lunch and ate it in the staff lounge - in front of everyone!

October 8
I had to review the art in our school for one of my classes. This was one of the pieces I came across. It's been here since I started teaching here but I hadn't paid attention to where it came from until now. This sculpture was created by a group of elementary students in an enrichment class in the 90's. We have so many great pieces of art decorating our school. They are all there because of our high school art teacher who values the aesthetics of a building.

A Few More!

September 29

My favorite tree! This is the tree in our school parking lot. I have always loved the way this tree shows the seasons. It's full of pretty green leaves in the summer, bright, bold colors in the fall, sparkly ice crystals in the winter and tiny buds in the spring.

September 30

Did you know I have a student teacher this fall? Her name is Jill also. She's fabulous! I've never been able to work with a student teacher before so I was really excited this year. I couldn't have asked for anyone better to work with. Our kids are lucky to have her as our student teacher this year.

October 1

Friday night dinner! Yep - Papa Murphy's stuffed crust pizza. I don't get any but the rest of the family sure enjoyed it!

October 2

My sister, Erin, is in nursing school. We happened to be in Spokane on the night she decided to listen to everyone's bowels. Hmmmm.....

October 3

Dylan helped Papa pick apples and plums in the orchard. He always has such fun helping Papa outside. I think he looks forward to that more than anything when we go to Spokane!